Friday, November 28, 2008

Bath time has become a lot more fun since Lori has been able to sit up in the bath. (thanks to a borrowed bath seat from our friends the Kuykendalls) She seems to really enjoy splashing and playing with toys. We even busted out the James Brown CelebriDuck which we have had for years now but never have taken out of it's box. To be honest, I am somewhat leary about letting my daughter play with such a hidious and almost frightening toy, but so far she hasn't had any nightmares. Its so much fun to watch Lori splash around in the bath, it never gets old. The video below is just a snipit of the fun. Keep your eyes open for the James Brown CelebriDuck... the ugliest duck you've ever seen)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I've decided that I'm going to start a little "segment" called Stay at Home(made) Mom (a play on words... "stay at home mom" and "homemade" - get it?) where I can tell all about the things I'm making instead of buying in order to save money. I've recently had a revelation about buying baby food vs. making baby food, so here it goes...

Before Lori was born I decided that I wanted to make my own Baby food. I only started a few months ago, and I have to admit, I have used store bought. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it actually was cheaper to make my own. It wasn't until recently that I realized that it is in fact cheaper. I was talking with my friend Chilly, whose daughter is a little older than Lori and she was telling me that the once Lori gets a little bigger she'll be eating from the bigger jars and that the bigger jars cost more money... almost twice as much as I was paying. I also realized that Lori hasn't been eating a whole jar per feeding yet and she will be soon, which means I'm going to have to buy MORE food than I am. All these things caused me to take a closer look at the cost of BUYING baby food verses the cost of MAKING baby food. And here is what I have come up with...

Right now at Walmart it cost .42 for 2.5 oz of baby food. (that was the cheapest one available) Right now she's eating about half a can a feeding, which equals 61 cents a day. That's not that bad right?

The next size up is 4 oz and it cost 1 dollar. So that means that when she starts eating one of those a meal she'll be eating 3 dollars of baby food a day. (you like my crazy math skills?)

So I went to the store and bought the things I'd need to make baby food and here is what it came down to...

3 lbs of sweet potatoes at .79 a lb = $2.37

a bag of Fuji apples = .99

Ziploc Zip 'n' Steam bags = $2.79 (use these instead of steaming/boiling the fruits and veggies in water... much faster, and MUCH easier clean up!)

So the grand total is... $6.15, so far so good. The next step was to make the baby food and see how much I get.

I started with the sweet potatoes, I peeled them, and cut them in to large cubes and put them in the Zip 'n' Steam bags. I cooked them according to the directions. (7 min) Afterwards I placed them in to my food processor and blended the heck out of them, adding water until it was a good consistency. (I think next time I will add apple juice, she likes it better.)

I had saved up all the empty jars from the baby food I had purchased and I was going to use them for a project with the kids at the school I used to work at BUT I figured I'd use them for this instead.

Then I started filling up the jars. I actually ran out of jars before I ran out of baby food so I had to resort to using small Tupperware containers, and when I ran out of those I used ice cube trays. I repeated this same process with the apples.

When all was said and done I had enough jars, Tupperware containers and ice cube trays to equal 25 dollars worth, more or less. I was pretty happy with the outcome and plan on making more in the future.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

When my mom came to visit us in October she brought her old laptop with her to give to us. I am enjoying the laptop, it's been fun, but Lori has been slightly jealous. All she seems to be interested in are the laptop, the mouse (yes, I use a mouse with my laptop... don't judge) and the remote control. So I got out her "laptop" for her to play with, and she's been enjoying it immensely. It's a toy that I think is intended for a much older child, but she likes to push the buttons and hear the sounds. She also likes to push it around the kitchen floor, whether that's intentional or not I am not sure, but either way, it's super cute! Lori learns something new everyday. She is the most curious child I've ever met, as well as the most diligent. She will not let anything stop her, nor will she take no for answer. Yikes... saying that out loud makes me kinda scared actually.

Here is some video of Lori and her laptop.

It's a little long, I'll admit, but it picks up around minute 4, (I said it was long) so hang in there. You're in for a treat. :)

We hope her smile in this video will brighten your day as much as it brightens ours. Enjoy!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! I always have! As my family will tell you, I'm a sucker for tradition, and this Halloween was no different. We went over to our friends Chris and Amy's house for the third year. (Has it been THREE years already?) We have the same dinner of Amy's homemade Chili, chat with friends, take A TON of pictures and then go Trick or Treating every year. The first year, 2006, there were 4 children... Natalie, Ethan, Ryan and Jenna. Last year there were 5, with the addition of Rachel. It was also the year that Jorge and I told everyone that Lori was coming! This year there were 7 thanks to Lori and Sophia.

Here is a picture of the three newest additions to our Halloween extravaganza

(note Lori's expression... she apparently was indifferent to taking this picture.)

This picture might be my favorite of the night! I love seeing Jorge with Lori! This is the first picture we've taken of Jorge, his friends and their daughters. I didn't realize it until now just how neat it is and how it really shows me how much our lives have changed and how far we've come.

Chris and Sophia , Jorge and Lori, Ben and Rachel

Ryan and his future bride(unless Lori has something to say about it...)

Ryan (in true Ryan form) and Rachel Kuykendall

Sydney Hammon (Ladybug) and Ethan Mann (Jr. Fireman)

Usually we go over to the Ferguson's house after dinner and hang out there until the kiddos need to go to bed, but this year Houston Christian High School (the school their daughter goes to) was having there Homecoming game. They stopped by to see the kids all dressed up. Doug and Lori hung out for a bit. For the record, Doug doesn't do diapers.

Ladybug and Kitty Cat (NOT a leopard) swinging...

Rachel the Bumble Bee and Katelyn Erickson

Chris and Brian having fun!

Amy's aforementioned chili and Ben and I enjoying said Chili

And FINALLY, here is a picture of our family on Halloween...

"Queen Kong" climbing the Transamerica Building and the Sears Tower

We actually didn't go Trick or Treating this Halloween. We ended up leaving a little early and heading over to our friends Dave and Jennifer's house to hang out and watch a movie (The Life of David Gale... it was Meh... not bad but just Meh.) Lori was so tired she went to bed at there house with no problem. All in all it was a really fun night!

Here's a few more pictures of our sweet little monkey, she definitely enjoyed the attention she got from being dressed up. She likes it when people smile at her!!